Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Aurelia Giacometto (right) and Gov. Jeff Landry hold a press conference on July 1, 2024, at the Denka neoprene plant in LaPlace, La., to speak against a new EPA rule they say is unfair to the company. (Photo credit: Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)
Aurelia Giacometto, the embattled secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, has left the agency, according to a news release Friday from Gov. Jeff Landry.
The governor said Giacometto has accepted a position with Earth and Water Law, a firm in Washington, D.C. The governor has appointed Courtney Burdette to fill the vacancy left by Giacometto.
Giacometto’s departure follows a year of tumult that began with high-ranking LDEQ executives resigning and publicly airing their complaints about her alleged harassment of subordinates. It was also brought to light that Giacometto used public money to travel to out-of-state political events with no obvious connection to her position in state government.
The most recent high-end LDEQ resignation occurred Monday when its top financial executive left for another state agency, marking at least the 15th departure of a key employee under Giacometto’s tenure. Many of her highest-ranking lieutenants, several of whom were experienced civil servants, left after just a few months or weeks on the job.
An Indiana native, Giacometto rose to political prominence as President Donald Trump’s appointee to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during his first term. After leaving her federal government post, she went on a speaking tour for the National Rifle Association, which she continued several months into her new job at LDEQ. She could not be reached for comment Friday.
Giacometto’s leadership style came under heightened scrutiny in March when Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack published the results of a workplace culture survey. Its results revealed pervasive low morale under her leadership, with some employees saying they felt pressured to violate the law or department policy.
Roughly two weeks after the publication of that report, long-time LDEQ ombudsman Roger Ward abruptly resigned and disseminated a scathing seven-page letter detailing what he called “the increasingly erratic and alarmingly vicious behavior” of Giacometto. Ward said he wrote the letter in lieu of providing an exit interview, a long-established LDEQ practice Giacometto ended this year.
“This is long overdue but fantastic news for the DEQ institutionally and its employees,” Ward said in an email Friday. “Ms. Giacometto’s tenure at DEQ has been a nightmare for both new and career employees at the agency. The damage she has done to the agency is immense and it is a shame that it took so many complaints and departures to finally get the governor to address her egregious and narcissistic behavior. DEQ employees are rejoicing over her departure and are thrilled that the Governor has chosen Courtney Burdette as Giacometto’s replacement. Unlike Giacometto, Courtney has the intellect and temperament to lead the agency.”
Ward’s polemic reinforced a similar departing letter from former LDEQ Undersecretary Chandra Pidgeon, who left the agency in March 2024 after just weeks of being hired. Pigeon similarly complained about Giacometto’s “harassment of longtime employees” and other actions.
“I have worked for 23 years for the state of Louisiana, and I have never encountered a leader so destructive, calculating, and callous,” she wrote.
None of that stopped the governor from praising Giacometto’s leadership throughout her time in office and again in his news release Friday.
“I want to sincerely thank Aurelia for her dedicated service to our State and the Department of Environmental Quality. Aurelia prioritized environmental improvements to our air, land, and water, while also keeping a focus on the jobs and businesses that often suffer from red-tape and overregulation,” Landry said. “We are grateful for her actions to improve the Department and wish her the best in her next endeavor.”
Burdette, Giacometto’s replacement, first joined the legal team at LDEQ in January 2014. She served as a permits supervisor of the department’s legal division before becoming general counsel in 2020 and later executive counsel.
Her experience also includes working as an attorney with the Louisiana Board of Ethics, and she was previously an assistant state attorney general who defended the state in a variety of tort cases, according to the governor’s office.
Burdette received a bachelor’s degree in English from Howard University and her law degree from LSU.
This is a developing story.
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